


A Garden Within

by kichihoshi



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, First Love, Hanahaki Disease, Oc is azul's sister, uhmm mild angst?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:41:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23719123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kichihoshi/pseuds/kichihoshi
Summary: Somehow, inside this human body of mine, there is something spreading. It’s as if a tree had been planted inside of me, cementing its roots and growing its branches.It takes up space in my lungs, like it should have been there instead of air, that it should stand there proudly, and bloom against my mouth.I must say, this was unexpected.
Relationships: Jade Leech/Original Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	A Garden Within

* * *

In the morning, I find something strange.

I’ve woken up quite early again, the thought of staying in bed almost had me wanting to tuck myself back in. The new term has just begun, and my classes don’t start the way they used to. However, I am in charge of opening the Mostro Lounge, with Floyd and Azul off to their own lectures.

It has been sometime since, and the days past had all been a breeze. Our summer vacation had been stirred by a series of mysteries, but finally, everything feels in order.

We have Yin-nee-sama to thank for.

I find myself thinking of her again, and I look into the mirror and stare at my reflection.

 _Come back to the sea_ , I said. But all she did was smile, feet on tiptoes as she reached for the top of my head. 

_I’m taller than you now._

_Doesn’t mean you can’t get pats from me._

And I bowed my head, enough for her to gently give me what she wanted.

“Dear, oh, dear.”

My heart flutters remembering that day. Goodbyes were said, but they never last long. Even if they did, I’ve decided to patiently wait. I’ve done so in the last three years, surely, it won’t hurt to do so for another year or two.

Azul had told me to confess, lest I lose her to the humans that she’s learned to love and live with. I’ve been fine with watching Yin-nee from a distance. I’m sure I’d never lose her. Her nature doesn’t allow her to cultivate lasting relationships anyway, she’s far too absorbed in her own interests to actually care about someone else at this point.

With Yin-nee, someone will need time. Time to understand her, time to see that behind her somewhat fanciful ideas and her ridiculous obsessions, she has a caring soul, that she’s someone who commits the moment she’s clear with what she wants.

Right now, She is just starting, and my feelings will not reach her the way I hope, even when I tell her. So, for now, I will keep this admiration sealed in a bottle. Like the ones they throw away in the ocean. These messages never disappear, and they crash into the shore, crash with the waves; swimming back and forth, with the passage of time.

“Ah!”

The itch in my throat distracts me from my daydream, and I start coughing.

The sink catches something, and I blink my eyes somewhat surprised.

_That just came from my mouth, didn’t it?_

In the white seashell basin, there are specs of what I believe were pink petals.

I curiously reach for one, picking it up into the air for a closer look.

“Cherry blossoms?”

I rub the petal between my fingers, and there’s no mistaking it. _It’s real._ With a hand over my chest, I try to breathe in, wanting to make sense of this situation in a calmer way. Not that it was alarming, I am used to having bizarre things happening around me, but because it almost excites me, how something so delightful had come out of my system.

That is, until I cough once more, now with a sharp pain in my lungs.

“Haghh…”

I hold onto the sink, gripping on the edges for dear life.

_What’s happening?_

My chest continues to tighten as I spew out these blossoms like an endless waterfall. They fill my vision with a springtime scenery, so beautiful that _it takes my breath away._

Like the growth of a vine, coiling around my neck to rob me of my senses, the lack of air had my eyes rolling back, and the last thing I heard was the sound of Floyd’s voice shouting my name.

**

It doesn’t take long for news to spread, certainly not if everywhere I go, people find cherry blossoms tailing me like a shadow. We’ve consulted our college faculty, and they said they had never seen a condition like mine.

“Maybe something’s wrong with the transformation?” Azul scratches his head. “A mutation… but it can’t be?”

“Hey, Azul, you can figure this out, right?” Floyd folds his arms, clearly worried. “Jade’s looking more and more sickly these days.”

“I’m fine.” I say, coughing.

They stare daggers at me, but I try to save face with a smile, just to ease their worries. In truth, I find it difficult to get up. Somehow, inside this human body of mine, there is something spreading. It’s as if a tree had been planted inside of me, cementing its roots and growing its branches.

It takes up space in my lungs, like it should have been there instead of air, that it should stand there proudly, and bloom against my mouth.

I must say, this was unexpected. 

“We have to find out what caused this first.”

“Jade, are you sure you didn’t swallow any seeds?”

I want to laugh, but I stop myself, not wanting to trigger any coughing spells.

Azul and Floyd look at each other in frustration.

“Ne, we should call Yin-neechan back. She’d know what to do.”

“You’re right. Looking into bodies is her specialty, after all.”

_Yin-nee._

I feel it, how the cherry blossoms swell inside my chest at the mention of her name. 

It multiplies, stretching in ways that my heart can’t take. Whenever I think of her, it used to be such a tender ache, something I patiently long for, something that makes music in my ears.

But now, I am gasping, holding my heart tightly.

“Jade!”

I fall to my knees, like so many times before, and see these flowers all over my hands.

My body throbs and I close my eyes shut in attempts to dull the sting.

_Perhaps... I know that this is._

A memory comes to me, be it a sweet torment or a brutal torture, I can’t say. But Yin-nee-sama’s face comes to mind. Her smile that one spring day was the best I’ve seen her wear.

_“Jade, these are my favorite here on land. Cherry blossoms. I wish we had these at the Coral Sea.”_

Those petals were falling like rain, somehow even magical as she walked underneath them.

_Yes. That must be it._

That day, without her looking, I held out my hand, and caught a cherry blossom for the first time.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
